Based in the Med

I thought your readers might be interested in some research I’ve done to find out what the best way is to register a boat to keep in the Mediterranean. We are a British couple, permanently resident in the UK and looking to keep a boat in the Med or Adriatic for a season while we take a year off work and cruise. After that, our plan is to keep the boat there for a few years.

We did look at whether we could register a boat and have it flagged in another country, but found that there really is no practical alternative to British registration as we wouldn’t qualify for another country. What we also found is that, notwithstanding the arrangements that might come from Brexit, there is absolutely no problem in having a Small Ships Registration in the EU, now or in the future. Registration of pleasure boats is nothing to do with the EU, but is covered by international marine law.

The freedom of movement of boats around the EU is determined primarily by payment of VAT – that is if the boat is VAT paid or exempt it is free to move irrespective of its flag of registration. This may well change after Britain leaves the EU, but it is highly unlikely that any restrictions on boats will be applied retrospectively so existing boats will be free to move as now. Any restrictions on the use of boats is more likely to arise from restrictions placed on persons.

Of more concern is that if we were to leave EU waters a boat would potentially lose VAT paid status and could be subject to further VAT payment if it is re-imported into the EU. This does not cause a problem for temporary periods outside the EU, but longer periods, typically over three years, can be problematic.

Another point is that, while it is useful to have an International Certificate of Competence, and it is not officially compulsory in most coastal waters, we may still be asked for our ‘licence’ and this does the job.